‘I have some I made from property sales in London,’ he said, a defensive note creeping into his tone. ‘It would be enough.’
He took a single step back from her, but in that step was all Sadie needed to know. She’d offended him. She didn’t want that but there was no point in being anything other than straight with him – his plan was plain madness. She drew a breath. She was tired and tetchy but she didn’t want to upset him.
‘It’s a sweet offer and I’m really touched, but it’s too much and I can’t even consider it. You’ll look back on this conversation in a few weeks and realise that it would have been a horrible mistake and you’ll be glad I said no.’
He chewed on his lip for a moment, head down, hands in his pockets.
‘Right,’ he said in a low voice, eyes still on the floor. ‘Well, now I feel pretty stupid.’
‘I didn’t mean that.’
Sadie reached for him, but he took another step back.
‘I have things to do,’ he said stiffly. ‘I just wanted to catch you before… I’d better go and leave you to it.’
Any energy Sadie might have had was quickly leaving her, and though she cared that he was so offended and perhaps felt stupid, she was too tired to see a way to rescue the situation. And even if she hadn’t been, would there have been one anyway?
‘Walk to the end of the pier with me?’ she asked.
‘Sure,’ he said, but it was obvious his heart wasn’t in it.
They carried on in silence, which had not been Sadie’s intention at all, though it felt impossible to prevent it. As they reached the point they’d have to part she looked up at him.
‘When will I see you next?’
He shrugged. ‘Whenever you like.’
Sadie didn’t press for anything more specific. ‘OK, maybe you want to let me know when you’re next free? You know, whenever. My evenings aren’t exactly wall-to-wall social events so I’ll probably be free.’
Her joke didn’t even raise so much as a faint smile. As attempts at humour went, even she had to admit it had been feeble, but she’d hoped to soften the sharp edges of the situation a little.
He just nodded. ‘Will do.’
She wondered if he’d kiss her but he didn’t, and she watched as he walked away, torn between being annoyed at him for starting this and annoyed at herself for the way she’d handled it. But at the end of the day she was certain that no matter how much the idea might seem like a silver bullet for her problems, it wasn’t. Someone would buy the waffle house from them, of that she was certain, but it couldn’t be Luke.
Chapter Fifteen
Sadie was back on the cliff road when she saw a familiar figure walking towards her.
‘Oh, God…’ she muttered, quickening her step to meet them. As she got closer she recognised instantly the comfy shoes Gammy always wore to work.
‘Why didn’t you wait for me?’ April asked tersely.
‘What do you mean?’
‘And who’s minding the waffle house if you’re here?’
‘Nobody… It’s not open, remember?’
April slapped a hand to her chest, eyes wide with shock. ‘Not open!’
‘Gammy… we agreed this last night. You must remember the conversation?’
‘I most certainly agreed nothing of the kind,’ April snapped. ‘I’ve never heard such nonsense!’
‘But, Gammy…’
April looked at her watch. ‘Oh, my – it’s almost nine! We’ll never be ready in time to open!’
Sadie started after her as she continued her march down the hill. ‘Gammy, wait!’
‘There’s no time to dawdle,’ April said. ‘We’ve got hungry people to feed!’
‘Gammy, please!’ Sadie cried, grabbing her grandmother’s arm to stop her. ‘Please, think back! Yesterday we sat with Mum and Dad and Kat and Ewan and we agreed that… well, that you needed a little break from the waffle house…’
‘I would never agree to that,’ April said, looking hurt and bewildered. Sadie could understand why she might be a little confused because a few short days ago it would have seemed so unlikely for her to agree to something like that. But she had agreed, and Sadie had to make her remember.
‘Just let me…’ Sadie began, letting go of her grandmother’s arm to get her phone out. She started to dial her mother’s number. It went to voicemail, and then her father’s did the same, and so she got to poor Ewan, who already had enough on his plate.
‘Oh, thank God!’ she said as he picked up. ‘You have to come and help me with…’ She glanced at April, who was watching her carefully. ‘You know last night when we said the waffle house… you know… that Gammy needed a break? Well she’s got other ideas.’
Ewan’s reply was tense. ‘Where are you now?’
‘On our way down from the house.’
‘Going to the pier?’
‘Yes,’ Sadie said helplessly.
‘Can’t you explain it to her?’
‘I’ve tried but she’s… I’ve tried. I can’t stop her.’
‘She’s going there right now?’
‘Yes!’ Sadie said. ‘If she wasn’t I wouldn’t be calling you! She’s got keys to open up. She’s determined to go and I can’t just let her get on with it, but I’m not supposed to be taking her there either.’
‘What on earth are you talking about?’ April asked sharply. ‘We don’t have time for this.’
‘It’s Ewan, Gammy… he…’
‘Tell her I need her at the dive school,’ Ewan said into Sadie’s ear. ‘Tell her we need her to help out with one of the kids. Say they’re ill or something. As long as we keep her away from the waffle house for a bit longer. Once she’s here I can take her home.’
A bit of Sadie wondered still whether it might make more sense to let April potter about in the waffle house with Sadie keeping a close eye on her. But she supposed that plan would only work if they didn’t get very busy and they might. But trying to stop April from going there to work was only making her distressed and Sadie didn’t see a way out of this that didn’t make that worse. And Sadie hated all this lying and subterfuge. She hated telling all these stories and manipulating Gammy into doing everything they wanted her to do. Even though it was with her best interests at heart, it didn’t feel right and Sadie didn’t enjoy being a part of it. But she bit her tongue and did as her brother asked.
‘Gammy… Ewan says he needs us to go to the dive school. He needs you to help with something.’
‘With what?’
‘One of the kids.’
‘Shouldn’t they be at school about now? What do they need me for?’
Sadie had to smile. April might have been confused but she wasn’t stupid.
‘I’m sorry but he’ll have to get someone else. Where’s Kat? Isn’t she right there with him? What is it that only I can do? They’ve never asked me for something like this before.’
‘I…’ Sadie flicked back to Ewan. ‘This is hopeless. She’s determined to go and I can hardly stop her.’
‘Why are you telling Ewan all this?’ April snapped. ‘It’s just like sports commentary – April’s doing this, April’s doing that…’ She raised her voice so that Ewan would be able to hear. ‘Grandma’s putting one foot in front of the other to walk down the hill… is that OK? Do you need any more information? Perhaps you want to know what coat I have on?’
Sadie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, though she did have to appreciate April’s wit.
‘Sorry,’ she said to Ewan, ‘but it looks as if we’re opening up this morning. You’ll have to come to us and try to persuade her, but I don’t fancy your chances the mood she’s in.’
‘I’ll meet you down there,’ he said, and then hung up.
Sadie fell in step with her grandma. There wasn’t much else she could do.
* * *
April wasn’t very pleased when she saw Sadie’s sign up in the waffle-house window. In fact, she didn’t even wait for the door to be unlocked befo
re she started to tear a strip off her and was in full flow when Melissa walked past. Sadie glanced at her and they exchanged a look of awkward recognition, Sadie flashing back to the night she’d heard Melissa shouting angrily at Declan in the street and she’d heard her own name mentioned in the tirade. She was still convinced that the conversation had been something to do with a request from Declan for help at the waffle house.
Melissa hurried by, at least having the decency to be embarrassed for Sadie at the sight of her being scolded very publicly by her grandmother. Sadie watched her go, wondering vaguely what had brought her this far long the pier, all that she knew about that night very much on her mind. She was dragged back by her grandmother’s voice as she shoved the front door of the waffle house open and went inside, immediately removing Sadie’s notice and putting it in the bin.
‘It’s just plain crazy to let this place stand empty,’ she said. She set about switching the lights on and taking chairs from the tables. ‘I don’t know what you were all thinking!’
As she began to help, Sadie wondered if she could get away with sneakily locking the front doors, putting another discreet sign up and letting April potter around in the kitchen, thinking they were open but just having a slow day until closing time. But her grandma wouldn’t be so easily fooled. After ordering Sadie to get the till ready, she went through to the kitchen to start in there, muttering all the time about how they were running late and would never get the doors open for customers by ten, and how crazy and annoying everyone else was. Sadie gave a mental shrug and turned her attention to getting the front of house in order. What she wouldn’t give for her bed right now, but it looked as if bed was a long way off.
It was then that she saw Ewan at the door. He must have rushed over at top speed, judging by how quickly he’d arrived.
‘What exactly are you proposing to do?’ she asked in a low voice as she opened up to him. ‘You heard her this morning – she won’t be persuaded to go home. God knows I’ve tried everything.’
‘You’ll have to try harder. We all agreed that she isn’t safe to be here.’
‘We did – but tell her that! Actually, don’t, because she’s in a stinker of a mood and you’ll only make her worse!’
‘She can’t be here!’
‘She is here! And trust me, she’s not about to go anywhere – at least not today.’
Ewan narrowed his eyes. ‘And you haven’t put her up to it?’
‘Don’t be a dick!’ Sadie snapped.
‘I’m just saying because you’re keen to keep the place open and it would suit you to—’
‘At the expense of Gammy’s safety? Credit me with some humanity, Ewan!’
He ground his teeth and stared into space for a moment. ‘As far as I can see, the sooner Grandma sells this place the better.’
‘I know that. But first we’ve got to persuade her it’s a good idea.’
‘A quick sale and a good price might do that.’
Sadie wasn’t so sure but she didn’t say so. She wasn’t sure any price would be enough for Gammy to let it go, especially not to a stranger.
‘Does it matter who buys it?’ she asked.
‘Why?’
‘No reason,’ Sadie said, though she didn’t know why Luke’s offer had popped into her head at that exact moment. She could probably put it down to desperation. They needed a quick solution and he had one. But she’d already dismissed it because it wouldn’t work, and her opinion hadn’t really changed on that. It was just too easy to reach out for the nearest life raft, even if that raft had holes and too many people on board already. And no matter how desperate things became, her brother would never agree to Luke buying the waffle house anyway and chances were – the way things stood – that April would never agree to sell it either. Sadie was convinced that the only way her grandmother would sell was if it stayed in the family, but they’d already established that wasn’t practical either because the only family member who wanted to buy it couldn’t afford to. They really were looking at the most impossible puzzle.
‘Ewan,’ she continued, ‘you can’t go in all guns blazing this morning, telling Gammy all this; you’ll only upset her and she’s already unhappy. For today we’re going to have to let it be and then talk to her again tonight. It might take time to get there and we’re going to have to be patient.’
‘We could talk to her again tonight if you could sit in the house for longer than ten minutes with us.’
Sadie put her hands to her hips. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I don’t know… Don’t you have a date with an axe murderer or serial killer or something?’
Sadie scowled at him. ‘Oh, Ewan, you’re soooo funny…’
‘I’m not trying to be. Will you be in?’
‘For what it’s worth, yes. But I hardly think it matters. I’m hardly more persuasive than anyone else and nobody’s got through to her so far.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong. If you tell Grandma you won’t work in the waffle house any longer she’ll have no choice but to close up because even she knows she can’t run it alone.’
Sadie stared at him. ‘You want me to do what?’
‘You heard me,’ he replied, lowering his voice and casting a glance at the kitchen door.
She gave her head a vigorous shake. ‘I’m not doing it.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because Gammy will hate me.’
‘You’ll be doing her a kindness in the long run.’
‘Easy for you to say – you’re not going to look like the bitch who lost her lovely waffle house for her. She’ll still love you when it’s all over.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous – she’ll still love you too.’
‘She’d always blame me and that’s not fair because it wouldn’t even be my fault. Why should I take the rap? It’s a horrible idea and I’m not doing it.’
‘You don’t have a choice. It’s either that or she does herself an injury here. Or worse, she does someone else an injury. Maybe even you.’
‘You’re overreacting – she’s not that dangerous.’
‘Sadie, she locked you in this building and then wandered off with the keys! And I’m worried this might only be the tip of the iceberg – it could get worse. She could blow the place sky-high and then nobody would have it.’
Sadie let out a long sigh of defeat. ‘I hate you.’
‘I know, but you’ll get over it. Stay here today and I’ll get whoever’s free to come and check in from time to time. Tonight we have to sort things out because you just can’t open again tomorrow.’
Sadie gave a grim nod. As if her day wasn’t already bad enough, there was that to look forward to. What a start – it was hardly conducive to service with a smile.
* * *
Sadie had to wonder if they’d had more family and friends in checking up on them than actual paying customers at the waffle house that day. After Ewan had gone Kat called, having a couple of hours between lessons, and then late morning Henny dashed over, taking a break from the boat and letting Ewan (who now had an hour free) go out with Graham instead.
At lunch Natalie called in (after being filled in by Vivien at the pub, who’d heard it from Melissa’s mum, who’d been told by Melissa, who’d been told by Declan that he’d found April wandering the day before with Sadie locked in the waffle house). Natalie demanded to know why Sadie hadn’t approached her for help, and though Sadie appreciated the sentiment, she suspected that if she’d asked for help, Natalie probably would have been too busy to do very much at all. But she was here now, concerned for the welfare of all involved, and Sadie was grateful for that. Natalie went through to the kitchen and sat on a stool, chatting to April while she drank tea and ate crepes. While Sadie appreciated that her friend was keeping Gammy company and keeping an eye on her, she also had a little wry appreciation of the fact that her friend was getting a pretty good deal out of it. Then Natalie had to dash off back to work and Sadie was left in relative peac
e – for an hour at least.
The day saved the best (or worst, depending on how you looked at it) until last. About an hour before closing, Declan came in. He seemed tense, not quite his usual self, but he denied this when Sadie asked him about it. She wondered whether problems with Melissa were at the root of it, and whether perhaps the row she’d overheard the night she’d hidden beneath the pier with Luke was still rumbling on. But he hadn’t taken an hour off work to talk about himself, he said, he’d come to check if Sadie and April were OK, and to see if he could lend a hand. He also expressed some surprise that they were open at all.
‘You’re not the only one who’s surprised,’ Sadie said in a low voice. ‘We weren’t supposed to be open but it got a bit tricky. I suppose Melissa told you she saw us this morning?’
‘Yes, though when she told me I thought maybe you were just checking the place over. And then Ewan called me about an hour ago to see if I could come by.’
‘Hmm. Well, basically, Gammy was determined that we’d be open no matter what anyone said about it, and you know how difficult she can be.’
He gave a slight smile. ‘The stubbornness doesn’t surprise me – it runs in the family.’
‘I hope you’re not alluding to me.’
He shrugged. ‘Take it how you like, but if you recognise it…’
‘Oh!’ she cried with mock annoyance. ‘So rude!’
He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. ‘I’m just saying I might have seen it before.’
Sadie couldn’t help a warm smile for him. ‘Even though it does look as if you’ve taken an hour off just to come and insult me, thanks for looking in on us anyway. But you needn’t have worried – we’re just fine. We have a plan, apparently. At least, Ewan does.’
‘Doesn’t sound as if you’re overly keen on it.’
‘I’m not, but I don’t think I have a choice.’
‘Want to fill me in?’
Sadie glanced at the kitchen door. ‘Not now – you never know who’s listening.’
He nodded. ‘You don’t need anything from me while I’ve got an hour? Anything at all – name it. As long as it doesn’t involve human sacrifice or lime jelly I’m all over it.’
The Waffle House on the Pier: A gorgeous feel-good romantic comedy Page 21
